The Web3 Era

10The Nature of a Nurturer: Reflecting on the Klaytn Journey

I have always been a person who has enjoyed setting up or growing ecosystems in the blockchain/crypto space. A lot of my friends in the industry describe me as a “zero to one” kind of guy. So, when I was asked in early 2021 to meet with one of the Co‐Founders and Vice Chairman of Kakao Group to discuss an opportunity to join Klaytn (Kakao's blockchain), to help globalize the platform, I was thrilled. For those of you who don't know Kakao, the simplest way to explain it is that it's Korea's version of WeChat. Over 95% of the population has a KakaoTalk account. KakaoTalk was their first product that they created and the first chat application to have a group chat feature. Subsequently, off the back of their success in launching what is now technically Korea's national communication app, they started to expand their platform business into other areas like gaming, entertainment, ride‐hailing, internet banking, and Web3/blockchain.

It was an absolute honor and pleasure to have been asked to take the role as Head of Global Adoption at Klaytn. Consequently, with the growth of the team and expanded responsibilities, I took on an expanded mandate of Global Group Head, which was my last official title before leaving Klaytn in December 2022. For a year and half, I put all my energy and effort in pulling together a global strategy, team, and structure that would help Klaytn go from an obscure local Korean blockchain project to ...